This is an absolute gem. Here he talks about Limelight and gives a lesson on how to play a section of the song during the main guitar solo. But during the clip of him playing it live in concert, his snare sound is killer. Anyways, it's worth checking this out.

I grew up near Hamilton Ontario where Neil was from. I even had a high school art teacher who was in a band with him when he was in high school, but dropped out when they wanted to start playing farther from home! LOL. Of course I worshiped Neil Peart. I took a few lessons when I was a kid from a studio drummer who lived in Hamilton at the time. This guy was an amazing drummer, had met and was friends with Neil and constantly gushed about Neil when the subject came up. He said that Neil Peart was just a all around great guy. Always happy to give out music advice and gracious to new drummers and experienced ones alike. Class act, with unbelievable work ethic, and incredible talent.

I play with a guitar player (from a previous project) once a month and we play 2 medleys; one Dream Theater medley because of the influence it had on me and one Rush medley because the influence it had on him. I've always loved Neil's playing playing, but now to play the actual parts myself I realize how hard it is to play it properly! MP's parts in DT i can play without too much effort, because i played along with songs in the past. Rush is new for me and it's a real challenge. Love it!

La Villa Strangiato is also in the medley and i can't get enough of listening to this song! I have the Taking Center Stage dvd (got it 3 years back or so) and finally got A Work In Progress (still have to watch dvd 2). Love that once every 3 to 4 years i get inspired by a drummer and that i get a paradigm shift* playing wise.

Back to the previous comments; i got the R40 dvd and i really dislike the mixing. Also have the R30 dvd which sounds way better, but also think the recorded R40 show on the dvd lacks energy. Could be that the crowd is almost inaudible on that show, but it sounds like 'just' Rush doing their stuff at soundcheck.

Back to the previous comments; i got the R40 dvd and i really dislike the mixing. Also have the R30 dvd which sounds way better, but also think the recorded R40 show on the dvd lacks energy. Could be that the crowd is almost inaudible on that show, but it sounds like 'just' Rush doing their stuff at soundcheck.

*pun intended

I can't stand the mixing on Rush's last three live albums. I can barely hear the drums if I'm playing along to the R40 album.

I’m kinda happy in a way that Alex and Geddy are working on new projects, maybe we’ll get to see a different side of their musical abilities. Then, at least we’ll have something “kinda like Rush” instead of them all retiring and never hearing these great musicians play again.

I’m kinda happy in a way that Alex and Geddy are working on new projects, maybe we’ll get to see a different side of their musical abilities. Then, at least we’ll have something “kinda like Rush” instead of them all retiring and never hearing these great musicians play again.

Alex basically just said a day or so ago that Rush is done for good. Hopefully those two will do an album together. It'd be cool if there were no drums on it too.

In my experience, drums move like that when there's a bit too much give in the flooring, regardless of how hard you hit. If he doesn't dent or break heads (as someone claimed) the flooring of the riser/stage may be a factor.

Neil was my first favourite drummer. I love how well he scripts his fills but I kinda don't like that he never varies from the script. Can you imagine playing the same song for 30 years and never coming up with an improvement on what you played in the original recording? That's unusual, but he's one of the greats to me.

Exactly. Neil's platform,is on some electric motor gear track (The drum techs use to turn by hand). So the platform is not exactly concrete stable. Plus, the fact that most of the stands are threaded into the platform and do not have actual legs. Neil plays hard, but theres finesse/touch which is why he does not break many cymbals or heads.

Alex basically just said a day or so ago that Rush is done for good. Hopefully those two will do an album together. It'd be cool if there were no drums on it too.

I really hated to see Rush stop touring because I had just gotten into listening to them after finding how great of a drummer that Peart is!!!! His drum kits through the later years of RUSH were absolutely mind-blowing and must have taken many hours to assemble!!!!

Other than Ronnie Tutt, Neil Peart runs a very close second as my #1 favorite drummer.

here is my two cents about neil peart. he's one of the best rock drummers ever. i give him a 10 on drums. good lyric writer, too. i don't think he's overrated. there are better drummers out there than him, but he was real unique and special. peart was good on the cowbell, ride, 16th notes high hat stuff, odd time, really good double bass, good on the cymbals, some fast, proggy/fusiony fills. good on the snare with snare rolls. really good soloist, too. i don't care for the electronic drums on his kit. his drum solo on the exit stage left live album is probably one of the best drum solos ever, in my opinion. the only knock on him would be that he's not really that funky or soulful or swinging and a lot of his drum parts were too rehearsed and perfect. i don't think he would have fit in any other rock band. he was perfect for rush, like moon was perfect for the who. i also never liked the sound of his dw kits. it sounded too wimpy. his two old slingerland kits in the 70's and his first tama superstar kit sounded better. peart was kind of like eddie van halen. you were just waiting for the next wacky, impossible part they could pull off.

here is my two cents about neil peart. he's one of the best rock drummers ever. i give him a 10 on drums. good lyric writer, too. i don't think he's overrated. there are better drummers out there than him, but he was real unique and special. peart was good on the cowbell, ride, 16th notes high hat stuff, odd time, really good double bass, good on the cymbals, some fast, proggy/fusiony fills. good on the snare with snare rolls. really good soloist, too. i don't care for the electronic drums on his kit. his drum solo on the exit stage left live album is probably one of the best drum solos ever, in my opinion. the only knock on him would be that he's not really that funky or soulful or swinging and a lot of his drum parts were too rehearsed and perfect. i don't think he would have fit in any other rock band. he was perfect for rush, like moon was perfect for the who. i also never liked the sound of his dw kits. it sounded too wimpy. his two old slingerland kits in the 70's and his first tama superstar kit sounded better. peart was kind of like eddie van halen. you were just waiting for the next wacky, impossible part they could pull off.

I think the first red sparkle was the best of the DW's. Maybe its the plain ambassador heads vs the funky DW damped-strip thingy heads. Also, I think Neil started sticking to the John Good timbre note thing that is stamped inside the drum. I just find the sweet spot and go from there.

the electronic solos, while technically difficult, were the most boring part of a Rush concert and I was happy to see him forgo any of them for R40.

Time Machine was my favorite kit, all the drums just worked together, R40 had thundering lows and not much definition or high end, Snakes and Arrows kit had beautiful mid toms, R30 again had some mean 16 and 18 inch toms. I know both R40 kits were sentimental to Neil and looked amazing. all I know about the Vapor Trails kit was that the crowd cheered as a sign of respect to Neil when the roadies pulled the tarp off at the Hartford 2002 show, his first show back.

the electronic solos, while technically difficult, were the most boring part of a Rush concert and I was happy to see him forgo any of them for R40.

Time Machine was my favorite kit, all the drums just worked together, R40 had thundering lows and not much definition or high end, Snakes and Arrows kit had beautiful mid toms, R30 again had some mean 16 and 18 inch toms. I know both R40 kits were sentimental to Neil and looked amazing. all I know about the Vapor Trails kit was that the crowd cheered as a sign of respect to Neil when the roadies pulled the tarp off at the Hartford 2002 show, his first show back.

I agree about the R40 kit. Especially, the retro kit. The concert toms did not cut thru at all. I believe it was tuning. I know the drums were one offs off some exotic wood buried in a lake somewhere, however, I'm sure they could be tuned to cut thru.

All right, I'm getting in this action with my two-pennies worth on the subject matter. Let me start by laying the foundation of that I have seen RUSH live in concert on various tours, and that I own a great deal of their music that has been spread out over the course of many decades.

With that said, each period/release has its own gems that shine brilliantly-both musically & equipment[drum kit]wise. But for me personally, the year of 1982, saw as far as I am concerned, the greatest collection of songs assembled and, the ultimate pinnacle of sounds being brought to life by none other then the TAMA CAR drum kit.

Composition wise, the songs on Signals are absolutely stellar! Not a bad cut on the record. Lyrically?...C'mon man, think about some of those lines that were written - "The boy pulls down his baseball cap and covers up his eyes." To this day, I am STILL dreaming, and think about that song every time I wear a ball cap. Subdivisions, Digital Man, Losing It, The Weapon, Countdown, etc, etc, the list is endless.

As for the drums, Those TAMA's sounded the way drums should sound. How about those wooden timbales huh? The crack & whack of those puppies when first heard, instantly captivated me when they where struck. The Zildjian cymbals, just delicious in splendor & delivery. The overall look of the kit, well you know.

I'm sure Neil's DW drum kit sounds nice and all, but each time when I saw him perform live with it/them, I was not too overly impressed by them. Recording wise, the same. Maybe it was just shoddy mixing or soundboard work, but those kits never produced such sounds like the CAR kit did.

Gone, but NOT ever forgotten. The TAMA car kit & Zildjian connection, as well as the Boogie Nights moustache.

Love Rush. Love NP. For me, 1980 to 1984 was their golden era.
For a young drummer starting out, the playing was a revelation.
Neil never played or sounded better than he did in the early 1980s.
Saw him playing these Tama drums 'in the flesh' at Wembley Arena, London, in 1983.
Will never forget the experience...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Percussionplayer

All right, I'm getting in this action with my two-pennies worth on the subject matter. Let me start by laying the foundation of that I have seen RUSH live in concert on various tours, and that I own a great deal of their music that has been spread out over the course of many decades.

With that said, each period/release has its own gems that shine brilliantly-both musically & equipment[drum kit]wise. But for me personally, the year of 1982, saw as far as I am concerned, the greatest collection of songs assembled and, the ultimate pinnacle of sounds being brought to life by none other then the TAMA CAR drum kit.

Composition wise, the songs on Signals are absolutely stellar! Not a bad cut on the record. Lyrically?...C'mon man, think about some of those lines that were written - "The boy pulls down his baseball cap and covers up his eyes." To this day, I am STILL dreaming, and think about that song every time I wear a ball cap. Subdivisions, Digital Man, Losing It, The Weapon, Countdown, etc, etc, the list is endless.

As for the drums, Those TAMA's sounded the way drums should sound. How about those wooden timbales huh? The crack & whack of those puppies when first heard, instantly captivated me when they where struck. The Zildjian cymbals, just delicious in splendor & delivery. The overall look of the kit, well you know.

I'm sure Neil's DW drum kit sounds nice and all, but each time when I saw him perform live with it/them, I was not too overly impressed by them. Recording wise, the same. Maybe it was just shoddy mixing or soundboard work, but those kits never produced such sounds like the CAR kit did.

Gone, but NOT ever forgotten. The TAMA car kit & Zildjian connection, as well as the Boogie Nights moustache.

Exactly. Neil's platform,is on some electric motor gear track (The drum techs used to turn by hand). So the platform is not exactly concrete stable. Plus, the fact that most of the stands are threaded into the platform and do not have actual legs. Neil plays hard, but theres finesse/touch which is why he does not break many cymbals or heads.

It comes apart in 2 halves (you can see Gump set it all up in the Anatomy of a drum Solo DVD).
As it's a plywood platform on a wooden frame (must be heavy as hell) with threaded stands, things shake a lot.
I for one would find all that movement irritating to say the least, but he makes it work for sure!

I'm 100% positive Geddy & Alex will still do music. Neil with his new daughter & drum related issues is just done with the marathon level stuff. I'm sure he'll still do clinics & product reviews, but touring is out for sure.

I can't say I've liked any live recording mix after R30. The shows were great live, but they just never captured that energy on the disc.

__________________
"You're never fired, you're just not asked to do the next thing". -Liberty DeVitto